The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari)

  The Tale of Genji (源氏物語, Genji Monogatari) is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early eleventh century, around the peak of the Heian Period. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, or the first novel to still be considered a classic. The issue remains debated among scholars.

  The Genji, as the work is commonly called by aficionados, was written for the women of the aristocracy (the yokibito) and has many elements found in a modern novel: a central character and a very large number of major and minor characters, well-developed characterization of all the major players, a sequence of events happening over a period of time covering the central character's lifetime and beyond. The work does not make use of a plot; instead, much as in real life, events just happen and characters evolve simply by growing older. One remarkable feature of the Genji, and of Murasaki's skill, is its internal consistency, despite a dramatis personae of some four hundred characters. For instance, all characters age in step and all the family and feudal relationships are consistent among all chapters.

  One complication for readers and translators of the Tale of Genji is that almost none of the characters in the original text are given an explicit name. The characters are instead referred to by their function or role (e.g. Minister of the Right), an honorific (e.g. His Excellency), or their relation to other characters (e.g. Heir Apparent). This lack of names stems from Heian-era court manners that would have made it unacceptably familiar and blunt to freely mention a character's name. Modern readers and translators have, to a greater or lesser extent, used various nicknames to keep track of the many characters. See Characters for a listing.


Based on the article "Genji Monogatari" from Wikipedia
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